Process of mercerizing short-staple cotton.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRIEDRICH ALBERT REIOHMANN AND CARL AUGUST LAcERovIs'r, ou vARBERe, SWEDEN. I

PROCESS OF MERGERIZING SHORT-STAPLE- COTTON.

SPECIFLGATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 682,494, dated September 10, 1 901.

' Application flledSeptembr 13, 1900. Serial No. 29,953. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FRIEDRICH ALBERT REICHMANN and OAR'L'AUoUsr LAGERQVIST, subjects of the King of Sweden and Norway, residing at Varberg, Sweden, have invented a certain useful Process for Imparting a Silky Luster to American or Short-Staple (Jotton, of which the following is a specification.

The known mercerizing processes of Thomas and Provost, Lieberman, Lowe, and others can only be employed for long-staple or Egyptian cotton, which has a certain luster in itself. When applied to 'American or short staple cotton, the known processes, which substantially consist in treating the fibers with concentrated machine-lyes in a state of tension, produce no result,or, at least,one that is unsatisfactory. A very good result is obtained, on the other hand, if the cotton be freed from fatty matter (or grease) and well soaked in concentrated alkaline lye and then steeped in a state of tension in a hot concentrated caustic soda-lye strongly mixed with copper-oxid ammonia until a deep-blue coloring appears and thereupon washed and neutralized. The washing andtneutralizing cause the blue coloring to, disappear. Thereafter the cotton has a weak gloss. In order to make this more effective, the cotton is allowed to lie in concentrated nitric acid Baui'n) at the most 15 centigrade temperature until a sample taken from it is of a paleyellow color, whereupon it is squeezed out (not wrung out) and thoroughly washed with water. The dried cotton then shows a gloss like Turin silk that has been boiled. \Vhen the cotton is so treated, the dyeing with light" colors may be proceeded with without any previous bleaching.

is acidified with nitric acid.

Letters Patent, is

Instead of treating the cotton simultane 4o ously with soda-lye and copper-oxid ammonia it may be treated separately with both. 0 therwise the process is as described. .It should, however, be remarked that with this method of carrying out the process greater attention is requisite, as otherwise the cotton very quickly dissolves entirely, whereas only the A process for imparting a silky luster to American or short-staple cotton either in the yarn or in thepiece, consisting in boiling and well-soaking the cotton in concentrated alkalilye until free from grease or fat, then treat ing it in a state of tension'with concentrated caustic soda-lye and copper-oxid ammonia until it is of a dark-blue color, then washing and neutralizing and finally allowing it to lie in highly-concentrated nitric acid-until it is, of a pale-ye1low color, whereupon it is squeezed and well washed. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two witnesses.

FRIEDRICH ALBERT RElCllRL-lh'h.

CARL AUGUST LA'GEllQVlSl.

Witnesses:

WILHELM Komo, KARL Tmnwune... 

